Newmont Corporation NEM has announced the completion of the previously announced sales of three non-core assets, namely the Musselwhite and Eleonore operations in Canada and the Cripple Creek & Victor ("CC&V") operation in Colorado, USA.

The divestiture of these three additional non-core assets resulted in total after-tax cash proceeds of $1.7 billion before closing adjustments. NEM anticipates completing the remaining two asset sales and receiving about $0.8 billion in after-tax cash proceeds during the first half of 2025. The closure of these deals completes a large element of the company's strategic portfolio optimization, which began in early 2024. It allows NEM to improve its investment-grade balance sheet while continuing to return money to shareholders through continued share repurchases.

Total gross proceeds from disclosed divestitures are expected to reach $4.3 billion, including $3.8 billion from non-core divestitures and $527 million from the sale of other investments. Newmont looks to complete the sale of its Akyem operation in Ghana and its Porcupine operation in Canada in the first half of 2025. As previously reported, the sale of these assets is estimated to produce gross proceeds of up to $1.4 billion.

Newmont’s shares have gained 26.5% in the past year compared with a 36.8% rise of the industry.

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NEM expects attributable production for 2025 to be around 5.9 million gold ounces, with 0.3 million ounces from non-core assets held for sale in the first quarter and 5.6 million ounces from the Total Tier 1 Portfolio. 

Gold AISC for the total portfolio is projected to be $1,630 per ounce, including production from non-core assets, for the first quarter of 2025, with gold AISC from the Total Tier 1 portfolio expected to be $1,620 per ounce for the year.

In 2025, the Total Tier 1 portfolio is expected to spend roughly $1.8 billion on sustaining capital and $1.3 billion on development capital to advance major near-term development initiatives.

NEM’s Rank & Key Picks

NEM currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

Better-ranked stocks in the basic materials space include Carpenter Technology Corporation CRS, Methanex Corporation MEOH and Axalta Coating Systems Ltd. AXTA

Carpenter Technology currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). CRS beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in each of the last four quarters, with the average earnings surprise being 15.7%. The company's shares have soared 218.2% in the past year. You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Methanex, which currently carries a Zacks Rank #2, beat the consensus estimate in each of the trailing four quarters. In this time frame, it has delivered an earnings surprise of roughly 85.2%, on average. MEOH’s shares have gained 1.5% over the past year. 

Axalta Coating Systems, which currently carries a Zacks Rank #1, beat the consensus estimate in each of the trailing four quarters. In this time frame, it has delivered an earnings surprise of roughly 16.3%, on average. AXTA’s shares have rallied 10.7% over the past year. 

 

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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